Last Updated on January 25, 2024 by Happily Ever Park Hoppers
Top Tips for Walt Disney World
Planning a trip to The Most Magical Place on Earth and wanting to make sure you are prepared with all the need-to-know information? You’ve come to the right place! Here you will find all my top tips for how to prepare for the best trip ever!
Keep in mind that all of these tips are just suggestions. There is no right or wrong way to visit Disney. These tips are to help you get an idea of what to expect and how to prepare for your trip.
Rope Drop
Rope Drop is a top tip from almost anyone who goes to Disney regularly. If you are unfamiliar, Rope Drop is a term that means being inside of a Disney park before the park is technically open. Cast Members will hold guests at the entrance of each land within the park and when the park actually opens, guests can get a jump on the front of the line for any given attraction.
Utilizing Rope Drop is a top tip because it allows guests to maximize the early part of their morning before the crowds get too big and the lines get too long. This is the most productive time in your Disney day without having to pay extra for Disney Genie+, After Hours Events or Holiday Parties.
Take a Mid-Day Break
Because Rope Drop can mean getting up super early and/or throwing your littles off their schedule, it’s important to take breaks.
Sometimes taking a break can mean going back to your resort to take a nap. Other times it means leaving the parks to get a break from the crowds. And that can either be at your resort to swim, another resort to enjoy a restaurant, let the kids play in an arcade, or simply intentionally scheduling a mid-day dining reservation inside of the park, so you can get a break from the hot Florida sun and in some place with AC. Breaks are very necessary at Disney.
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Order Shareable Meals
La Cantina de San Angel in EPCOT
An important tip for any Disney vacation is knowing that you can share food. A lot of people think that because it’s Disney they won’t allow you to share meals because they want you to spend the most. The majority of the meals that you get at Disney whether it’s at a Quick Service location or a Table Service location the portion sizes are absolutely huge, and completely sharable.
Sometimes it doesn’t even need to be about saving money. It’s about the fact that you’re getting such huge portion sizes there’s no way you can finish at all on your own. Sharing meals allows you to spend less but also enjoy more food options because you’re not stuffing yourself.
Familiarize Yourself with the My Disney Experience app
Another top tip when it comes to planning your Walt Disney World vacation is that you need to know how to use the My Disney Experience app.
The app does so much more than just telling you what the Wait Times are. You can also locate characters and find them on the map. Find the closest bathroom, PhotoPass Photographer or Guest Services.
Knowing how to purchase Disney Genie+ and how to make your lightning Lane selections, how to join the Virtual Queue, how to use Mobile Order, how to make dining reservations, join a Walk-up Waitlist, or how to get directions. All of these things are on the My Disney Experience app.
Familiarizing yourself with the app prior to your vacation versus when you’re there for the first time, is going to make your trip so much easier and less stressful.
Have a FLEXIBLE Plan
Having a flexible plan is one of the most important details when planning your Walt Disney World vacation. Too often people try to pack in too much into their trips and have unrealistic expectations of the amount of things they can accomplish.
It’s impossible to see and do everything unless you are staying for an extended period of time. Having a flexible plan means knowing what your priorities are, but not expecting to be able to do it all. Coming up with a flexible plan is having a general idea of what rides you want to ride, what characters you want to see, and things you want to see/do, all while knowing that you won’t get to it all, and that’s ok.
When you start treating your vacation like a grocery list, where you’re checking things off to feel like you’ve gotten your money’s worth, you are setting yourself up to be disappointed. I always tell people to manage their expectations. When you have a more realistic idea of what you hope to accomplish on your trip, the more you’re going to actually enjoy your trip.
Instead, for each park, come up with 5 things (could be rides, shows, characters) that are your “family bucket list” items. Setting reasonable expectations for each park will make you feel much more accomplished and allows you to actually ENJOY your trip. Rather than having this master plan where you’re racing around and not even really being a part of your trip because you’re so worried about what’s next on the to-do list. Also, by establishing reasonable expectations, when you are able to do MORE than you hope, you will leave feeling so much happier than if you didn’t get to everything on your list.
Know How to Maximize Disney Genie+
For first-time guests or guests who haven’t been to Walt Disney World in a long time, knowing how to use Disney Genie+ and maximize it, are very important. Familiarizing yourself with the app and knowing how to use Disney Genie+ takes a little getting used to.
If you think at all that you might, use Disney Genie+ or know that you plan on using it, make sure you know the rules of selecting your Lightning Lanes when you can make your next selection, how to stack Lightning lanes, and the sell-out order of all the rides in each park.
Order Groceries
Along with sharing meals, first-time guests are always shocked to know that you can bring your own food into the Disney parks. You can bring snacks, meals, sandwiches, drinks etc. Whatever you want to carry and have with you, you’re allowed to bring (obviously no alcohol) into the parks.
Even if you don’t want to worry about the stress of ordering, making meals, and/or packing that with you, I highly suggest that you still order at least a case of water and some small snacks to put in your park bag.
The price of bottled beverages in the parks is 3 – 5 times more than what they are from the grocery store. The same thing goes for snacks. There’ll be parts of the day when your kids aren’t necessarily hungry but you might not have a dining reservation for a couple of hours, having a snack in your park bag and being able to give it to your child versus paying five dollars for a little bag of crackers to hold your kid over. You’ll be happy you had those snacks in your bag.
Get the Best Price Possible
The last tip I want to talk about is making sure you’re getting the best price possible. ALWAYS compare the costs of EVERYTHING. Compare the price of your park tickets, compare the price difference between getting a Base Ticket or a Hopper ticket. Sometimes it’s cheaper to do 5 park days with a base ticket than it is for a 4 day hopper ticket.
And always, always, always, check the Walt Disney World Special Offers page for promotions. Know that Disney often announces special promotions for hotels, or sometimes hotel and ticket packages, after you’ve already booked your vacation. If Disney announces a promotion, that’s valid for your travel dates, you can call and have a Cast Member apply that promotion to your reservation to take advantage of those savings.
I hope you found these tips helpful! If you have any questions or need more clarification, please drop a comment below!
Spreading magic one post at a time
Kristin